Music at sporting events

The use of music at sporting events is a practice that is thousands of years old, but has recently had a resurgence as a noted phenomenon. Some sports have specific traditions with respect to pieces of music played at particular intervals. Others have made the presentation of music very specific to the team--even to particular players. Music may be used to build the energy of the fans, and music may also be introduced in ways that are less directly connected with the action in a sporting event.

History of music at sporting events

The ancient Greeks intently tied the performance of music to sporting events, particularly at their quadrenniel Olympic games.

"The extent to which cultural elements were included in the Pan-Hellenic games is enlightening. At several festivals, including Delphi, Isthmia and Athens, music played a prominent role in the athletic contests."^[1]

The revival of the Olympic games in 1896 also incorporated music into the festivities surrounding the competitions. On March 25 of that year, "the Philharmonic Orchestra played the National Anthem and the first Olympic Hymn, written by poet Kostis Palamas and set to music by the well-known Greek composer Spyridon Samaras."

Association of songs with sporting events

Certain songs have historically been associated with particular sporting events. Fans of the home team at collegiate athletic events may serenade the losing visitors with a song recorded by Steam, titled "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye", with its familiar refrain, "na na, na na na na, hey, hey, hey, goodbye." Queen's standards '"We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions" have also become common fare at sporting events, as have Five Stone's "Make Noise", Gary Glitter's "Rock and Roll Part 2", and Zombie Nation's "Kernkraft 400". Most collegiate sports are accompanied by a band that plays brass and drum instrumental music designed to accentuate the experience.

Basketball music

At NBA games, repetitive organ music is played at key points of the game. For example, the announcers often play the "Charge" fanfare to accompany the home team entering the visitor's side of the court with possession of the ball. A different theme is used to encourage the home team in defense of their own side of the court. Many NBA teams now play a particular theme to accompany the home team taking the court to begin the game.

The NCAA does not use organ music, but in many Division I schools, a smaller pep band plays at games (as compared to the full-size football marching bands). However, during a 2004 game between Michigan State University and the University of Kentucky at Ford Field, both teams' full football marching bands played.

Baseball music

Take Me Out to the Ball Game is often played or sung at major- or minor-league baseball games, typically during the seventh-inning stretch. Ballpark music performed by an organist debuted at Chicago's Wrigley Field in 1941, and had spread to most other Major League parks by the 1960s. Beginning in the mid-1970s, prerecorded pop and rock music began to supplement the organ music (or replace it entirely) at many ballparks.^[2] A very popular theme song is "Meet the Mets" from 1962 when the Mets joined the MLB. The Mets also had a theme song for their World Series run in 1986, it was "Lets go Mets".

In the modern evolution of the sport, many athletes now have "theme songs" that are played when they come up to bat. Slate notes that Major League Baseball players "can pick several songs as personal themes for their plate appearances, sometimes a rotation of four different tracks a game." Indeed, in 2004, the Wall Street Journal reported that the longtime organist for Dodger Stadium "has been usurped by a deejay who sits directly below her. He plays a selection of hip-hop and rock, interspersed with devices designed to pump up the crowd and the stadium's volume."

In some cases a particular song may be played at a specific time in the game. For example, Neil Diamond's song "Sweet Caroline" is played during the eighth inning of Boston Red Sox home games and has been a regular part of the program since 2002 and during the eighth inning of New York Mets home games since 2006. In this specific instance the music became a standing tradition gradually after several years of playing it based on the home team's performance.^[3]

Association football music

In the many countries where football (soccer) is popular, and in the UK in particular, football music is a varied and popular subgenre of popular music. Songs are often released to coincide with specific events, such as the World Cup, or to become anthems for particular teams. Since football has a huge spectator base, such songs are often very popular on the charts. Examples of music created to be football songs include New Order's "World in Motion", and "Three Lions" by The Lightning Seeds in collaboration with comedians and football fans: David Baddiel and Frank Skinner. A subset of football music is novelty football music, which typically includes humorous lyrics. Examples of novelty football songs include "Vindaloo" by Fat Les, "Meat Pie, Sausage Roll", and numerous Frank Sidebottom songs.

The Village People/Pet Shop Boys song "Go West" has also become popular, and an instrumental version of the music was used as the theme for the 2006 World Cup.

Liverpool F.C. adopted "You'll Never Walk Alone", specifically the version performed by local British Invasion band Gerry & The Pacemakers, as its theme song.

Theme music in American football

Many College Football teams have marching bands that play during the game at football games and march on the field during halftime.

Currently two teams have marching bands in the NFL. The Washington Redskins have featured a marching band since 1938, and the Baltimore Ravens have featured a marching band since its 1996 inception; however, Baltimore's Marching Ravens dating to the All-American Football Conference (a league which merged with the NFL) team in Baltimore, MD, featured a marching band when it began in 1947, went through many years with the Colts, and continued operations after being abandoned by the Irsay family when the team moved to Indianapolis in 1984. However, that band stayed intact in the area and began playing at other events, including the Preakness Stakes, and was used for the two-year CFL experiment known as the Baltimore Stallions. When the NFL returned to Baltimore with an expansion team in 1996 (the NFL suspended the Cleveland Browns franchise, and awarded an "expansion team" in Baltimore in a complex deal), the loyal band was rewarded by becoming the new Ravens' marching band. For the two years that the Ravens played at the Memorial Statium (former home of the Baltimore Colts) they remained "The Marching Colts." Once the new stadium opened in 1998, the group's name was changed to Baltimore's Marching Ravens to reflect the new era for the new team. During their existence, the Los Angeles Rams had a marching band during their time at both the LA Coliseum and Anaheim Stadium. The practice was abandoned when the team relocated to St. Louis.

The Seattle Seahawks adopted The Verve's "Bittersweet Symphony" as their theme song, and it is heard whenever something special happens to the home team. For instance, when the team takes the field to a sellout crowd, the song blares throughout the reverberating stadium, or when the Seahawks score the game-winning field goal, it would undoubtedly be played. When the New England Patriots come out from the tunnel, Ozzy Osbourne's hit "Crazy Train" is played. A common song for the New Orleans Saints during and since their Super Bowl Season is "Half-time", or "Stand Up and Get Crunk" by Ying Yang Twins.

A common choice of music to be played over PA systems as games are being kicked off is "Start Me Up" By the Rolling Stones and "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns N' Roses. During instant replay stoppages, lyric-related songs such as "Freeze Frame," "Back in Time," "The Waiting" are common in stadiums.

Theme music in other sports

Entire teams will occasionally adopt a theme song (such as the Chicago Bears with their 1985 Super Bowl Shuffle, sung by the members of the team). Monday Night Football has its own theme, sung by Hank Williams, Jr.; the Hockey Night in Canada theme has sometimes been referred to as Canada's second national anthem; and the Olympic Games have long had powerful theme music composed to accompany ceremonies opening and closing the games.

Perhaps the most extreme example of this can be found in professional wrestling and some mixed martial arts promotions, where almost every wrestler has an entry theme written to suit their particular character.

An album entitled "ESPN Presents Stadium Anthems" has been released that includes many songs that are played over the Public Address system at North American sporting events. Similar albums, such as Jock Jams have been released in the past.

See also

• Music in professional wrestling

External links

• Sports-Music Programming
• Culture and Tradition: The Ancient Olympic Games
• Music and the Olympic Spirit
• The Sports Economist, Economic Commentary on Sports & Society, Wednesday, August 18, 2004: Technical change at the ballpark
• Why does stadium rock all sound the same?
• The Sports Court: Rock and Jocks
• Total Request Live at the ballpark
• Baltimore's Marching Ravens

• Music and Sports : an exploration of crossroads

Notes

• ^ David Gilman Romano, Culture and Tradition: The Ancient Olympic Games, (2002).
• ^ Baseball Fever: "The Changing Ballpark Soundtrack"
• ^ The Boston Globe: "Another Mystery of the Diamond Explained At Last"